If you are a dog owner, you certainly have dealt with occasional accidents. It could have been a situation whereby you concentrated so much on your errands and forgot to let your dog out, and you returned home to a pool of pee. Or perhaps the weather was awful, and your dog could not take any of it. However, when your dog develops a habit of peeing in the house regularly, this could create frustration and even desperation.
In such circumstances, most people could be lead you to think that the only option left was to do away with their pet, while others can choose to nose stuff their dog in the belief that this would be educational enough. The truth of the matter is, putting your dog’s nose in pee is an extremely outdated method of dealing with your dog’s discipline. In fact, in most cases, this method does not work. It is a somewhat counterproductive approach that can lead to fear of aggression.
Why Is It Bad to Rub Your Dog’s Nose in Their Pee?
Actions always have consequences, they say. If this makes you believe that it is okay to punish your dog by rubbing their noses in their pee whenever they misbehave by peeing in the house, then you must belong in the “animals don’t feel pain” era.
Even though dogs won’t mind a lot being exposed to their wastes, you can be sure that they will not enjoy the experience of having their nose rubbed against their pee. Imagine the trauma that comes with being physically held down and forced to rub the nose on the carpet. Isn’t it horrifying to imagine?
Because of the fact that dogs do not think like us humans, they won’t understand the act of rubbing their nose on their pee as a punishment. For this reason, the best you can do if you catch them in the act is to interrupt them and rush them outside. Remember, at no time will they notify you whenever they need to go out. It is the responsibility of the dog owner to set their dogs for success and not a failure.
Following are some of the reasons why you should not even think of subjecting your dog to such an experience:
1. It amounts to gross mistreatment.
Holding your dog down to have them rub their nose on their pee is harsh to them and is a form of mistreatment. Keep in mind that dogs do not have the brains or reasoning capacity we humans have. It is not naturally instinctive for dogs to relieve themselves in designated eliminating places or outside – it is only natural for them not to soil where they sleep. Any other place is fine.
Overall, it would make more sense if you taught your dog what to do rather than what not to do. Of course, you do not expect it to ring a bell whenever it needs to pee. The perfect approach would be to teach it that the outside is the most suitable place to pee. As they say, prevention is better than cure; thus, you need to ensure close supervision to prevent accidents and take your dog outside regularly until it grasps the concept.
Therefore, the ball is in your court. Train your dog to know that it is not right to pee in the house rather than punishing them for innocently helping themselves out. Never rub your dog’s nose in their pee. This approach is counterproductive and often leads to fear aggression. Besides, it will not help teach them any lesson. They won’t associate your punishment method with something they did five minutes ago.
Learn to ignore your dog’s negative or unwanted behaviors and reward positive behaviors through treats, toys, attention, or plays. You will agree with me that the best way to catch more flies is by using honey instead of vinegar.
2. Punishing your dog creates an aspect of fear.
If you were to rub your dog’s nose on their pee after an accident, they would definitely associate peeing on the floor with this bad experience. This, in effect, will make the dog believe that it should hide from you whenever they want to pee, rather than learn that they need to go and pee outside. It is even worse doing so long after the accident because they cannot associate the two events.
What you will be doing, in essence, is merely making your dog believe that you are scary to be around, and this builds a fear-based relationship. As you can imagine, with the fear in your dog, it would be challenging for it to discern when you are reaching towards them to handle them or when forcing them down.
Punishing your dog for an accident by rubbing their nose on their pee will make your dog fear eliminating in front of you even when you have taken them outside. Consequently, this will make them prefer peeing in inconspicuous areas such as under the bed or behind the couch. With this, you will end up losing the more, as your house will be full of messes.
3. It breeds violent behavior.
Besides creating fear in your dog, rubbing their nose in its elimination could lead to antisocial, aggressive, and fierce behaviors. A dog that is full of frustration and angst; these extreme emotions could make them react fiercely towards your home members, family members, or fellow pets. This, of course, is not safe.
The moment your dog begins to exhibit such behaviors, it would be best if you sought the assistance of a pet professional. In the meantime, do not let your aggressive dog come close to children or other animals in your home. This behavior is often perilous.
How to house train your dog
House training your dog demands patience, consistency, and commitment. Do not forget that accidents will always make part of the process. Whenever they occur, you should not resort to punishing your dog by doing things such as putting their nose in their pee. If you come home to find a soiled area, then it would be too late to administer some correction. The best option would be just to clean up the mess. Punishing your dog will do more harm than good.
Some of the house-training best practices include:
- Take your dog outside frequently – this will make them accustomed to the routine and get the message.
- Pick a urinating spot outside – always take your dog to a specific eliminating spot outside.
- Reward your dog every time they eliminate outdoors – give your dog treats or plays whenever they urinate outside. This will make them understand what is expected of them. Ensure you do this immediately after they finish urinating.
- Schedule your dog’s feeding – it is advisable to feed by schedule instead of free feeding. Feeding all day translates to peeing all day but feeding them on schedule makes house-training simpler.
- Pick up your dog’s water dish before bedtime – this reduces the chances of them needing to pee during the night.
Signs that your dog needs to pee
Of course, your dog cannot speak to you and tell you that they need to pee. However, their body language is sufficient communication. Therefore, you ought to be on high alert and watch out for the below signs that tell you that they are ready to burst.
- Barking
- Scratching the door or other surfaces
- Squatting
- Sniffing around
- Circling
- Hiding
Whenever you notice some of these signs, grab your dog and take it to their bathroom spot.
Dealing with setbacks
If your house-training is unsuccessful for one reason or the other, the below guidelines can help put the situation under control:
- Schedule a veterinary examination – the problem could be as a result of some health condition that would be solved by a pet specialist.
- Clean up messes thoroughly – this helps to eliminate dogs’ behavior of returning to pee in the same spot inside your house.
- Use chemical attraction mechanism – because dogs are attracted to pee in the same place over and over, you can fix the material you used to wipe up the urine in a fixed spot outdoors using a rock or stick. This will be an attraction to them to go and urinate around the area.
- Supervise your dog – a close supervision will ensure that you interrupt them before they mess, and you will also be able to reward outside pees. Watch out for the signs and take out the dog immediately.
FAQS
1) Does vinegar stop dogs from peeing in the house?
Yes, using vinegar can help stop your dog from peeing in the house. Because dogs have a tendency of peeing in the same place over and over, you can bring this to an end by spraying or pouring vinegar over the pee zone. Dogs are highly sensitive to the smell of some chemicals including those that make up vinegar. They really hate the scent of vinegar. For this reason, they won’t go close to areas sprayed with vinegar.
You will need to spray or pour vinegar around the area once or twice a week until your dog gets the message. If the place gets rained on, you will have to repeat the treatment process immediately post shower. At times you can mix the vinegar with some water.
2) Is there a spray to stop dogs from peeing?
Yes, there are sprays that can be used to stop dogs from peeing. Dogs tend to engage in urine marking behaviors. Spraying them eliminates or greatly reduces the urine marking behavior. However, if your dog is older, there are chances that the urine marking behavior has developed into a habit and you will be required to use other techniques to control the behavior.
3) What can I mop my floor with to stop my dog from peeing on it?
Dogs tend to develop an attraction to return to spots where they previously urinated. Even if yourself you do not notice the smell of urine, dogs will always detect odors that attract them to return to the crime scene. Good news is that thorough cleaning of the spot will eliminate this attraction. Because pet urine is very stubborn and hard to get rid of, regular household cleaners won’t help.
You will need to use special pet-urine enzymatic cleaners such as Nature’s Miracle or Simple Solution. Enzymatic cleaners break down the odor in such a way that even your dog’s sensitive nose won’t catch the smell. Use this cleaner on anything that won’t be harmed by water. If your dog pees on the floor, ensure you wipe out the liquid with a paper towel then apply the enzyme cleaner to disinfect the affected spots.
Carpets are somehow trickier. But the enzymatic cleaner will penetrate everywhere that the urine has reached. First, you will soak up the urine using a paper or cloth towel then saturate the area with the enzyme and scrub to agitate the cleaner into the stain. Next is to put a cotton cloth on top of the area for 24 hours with a heavy object on top.
The Bottom Line
Owning a pet dog comes with both pros and cons. One of the cons is that you will have to occasionally deal with accidents at home. Some pets, if not corrected at an early stage, will develop a habit of peeing anywhere whenever they feel like. If you are dealing with a urinating yorkie, do not give up on them yet, and do not resort to punishing them. This can be corrected by simply applying simple house-training mechanisms.
This article outlines the reasons why it is wrong to punish your dog by rubbing their nose against their waste. It also discusses some house-training guidelines that should help you in getting your animal family member on the proper track. Irrespective of whether you have a puppy or a newly adopted adult, the dog won’t automatically recognize your house routines or figure out where the door is. It is all upon you to train your dog.